Fred Woods

Fred E. Woods IV (born 1956) is a Brigham Young University professor of LDS Church History and Doctrine, an author specializing in Mormon migration and the executive director of the Mormon Historic Sites Foundation.

Early life

Woods was born and grew up in Southern California. He was baptized a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints at age 20 and about a year later left on a mission to Australia. After returning from his mission he began studying at Ricks College where he met his wife, Joann Merrill. They are now the parents of five children.

Education

After completing his associate's degree at Ricks, Woods earned a bachelor's degree from Brigham Young University. He studied at Hebrew University in Jerusalem and received a Ph.D. in 1991 from the University of Utah. His doctoral dissertation was entitled "Water and Storm Polemics against Baalism in the Deuteronomic History". His Ph.D. was in Mideastern Studies with an emphasis in Hebrew Bible.

Since that time Woods has focused his studies primarily on post-1800 religious history, mainly that of LDS Church and largely in the 19th century. He has had research fellowships with both the Mariners' Museum in Newport News, Virginia and the St. Louis Mercantile Library at the University of Missouri-St. Louis.

Teaching career

Woods began as an instructor in the LDS seminaries in Provo and Orem. He later served as an Institute of Religion instructor and director in both Southern California and in Boulder, Colorado. From 1993 to 1998 he was a professor of religion at Ricks College, and since 1998 he has been a professor of religion at Brigham Young University, also at times teaching classes through the History Department.

While at BYU Woods has taken leaves of absence, once in 2001 to be a visiting professor at the University of Missouri at St. Louis, and in the summers of 2004, 2005 and 2006 to be a visiting professor at Brigham Young University-Hawaii.

Woods currently holds the Richard L. Evans chair of Religious Understanding at BYU.

Publications

Possibly the most widely used publication by Fred Woods is his CD the "Mormon Emigration Index", a compilation of passenger lists and primary source excepts of the Mormon passengers on ships from 1840-1890.

Woods has also written several books:
* "Fire on Ice: The Story of Icelandic Latter-day Saints at Home and Abroad" (2005, Religious Studies Center, Brigham Young University, ISBN 084252617X / ISBN 9780842526173)
* Co-author of "Unto Every Nation: Gosepl Light Reaches Every Land" (2003, Deseret Book, ISBN 1570089485 / ISBN 9781570089480)
* "Gathering to Nauvoo" (2002, Covenant Communications, ISBN 1591560322 / ISBN 9781591560326)
* "I Sailed to Zion", with Susan Arrington Madsen (2000, Deseret Book, ISBN 1573456519 / ISBN 9781573456517) ( [http://www.aml-online.org/reviews/b/B200064.html review] )
* "Water and Storm Polemics Against Baalism in the Deuteronomic History" (1994, Peter Lang Pub Inc, ISBN 0820421111 / ISBN 9780820421117)

Woods has been a prolific writer of articles. Among these are "An Islander's View of a Desert Kingdom: Jonathana Napela recounts his 1869 visit to Salt Lake City". ["BYU Studies", 2006] He published an article on Scottish Mormon migration to Utah in "Scotland History" in 2005. He has published books and periodical articles on the exploitation of the Saluda with William G. Hartley. He has published articles on the first Latter-day Saint missionaries to Tahiti, "The Outdoor Life of Wilford Woodruff" with Phil Murdock.

He has also edited for publication letters of historical significance. One example of this is "I Long to Breathe the Mountain Air of Zion's Peaceful Home", a letter written by Agnes O'Neal to Brigham Young from war-torn Virginia. It appeared in "BYU Studies" in 2007.

Public lectures

Woods has given many public lectures. A few of the most notable include:
*His 2007 lecture for the "Faith Beyond Walls" interfaith partnership of St. Louis given at the Frontenac LDS meetinghouse. [April 21st, 2007 "LDS Church News"]
*A 200th birthday celebration lecture on Oliver Cowdery in Vermont. [Sep. 30th, 2006 "LDS Church News"]
*He gave a lecture on the place of Liverpool in Mormon migration at the 2007 conference of the European Mormon Studies Association. [http://www.euromormonstudies.com/]

Awards

Woods received the Richard L. Anderson Distinguished Research Award in 2002. ["BYU Studies", vol. 41, no. 4, p. 93]

Notes

References

*dustjacket of Woods, Fred E. "Gathering to Nauvoo". American Fork, Utah: Covenant Communications, 2002.
* [http://deseretbook.com/authors/author-info?author_id=14383 Author biography] by Deseret Book
* [http://www.calumet.purdue.edu/cca/cgs/?page_id=17 Biography of Fred Woods]